MUST READ ARTICLES AND MUST SEE VIDEO FROM THE PRESIDENT'S 'FREEDOM' TOUR OF EAST EUROPE AND RUSSIA:
THE ONE AND ONLY, & C.
by Jay Nordlinger
"Can you believe what President Bush said in the Baltics? Can you believe he went to the Baltics, before visiting Russia for the 60th anniversary? Oh, yes, you can, if you know President Bush.
I have said it before, friends, and will remind you again: There will never be another like him. Enjoy it while you can. The clock is ticking till January ’09."
You can read the rest of the story at
http://www.nationalreview.com/impromptus/impromptus200505090742.asp
G.W. AND THE BEAR
Bush pushes Putin in Russia's Near Abroad
by Matt Welch
"It is a miracle of history," President George Bush said Saturday, "that this young century finds us speaking about the consolidation of freedom throughout Europe."
Bush uttered those words in the capitol of Latvia, a country that 15 years ago didn't even exist—its residents lived at the whims of the Kremlin. In attendance that day were the presidents of the other two new Baltic democracies, Estonia and Lithuania, which, like the host country, were erased from the map by the Soviet Union between 1940 and 1991.
All three young countries, despite living on Russia's northwestern doorstep and nursing unresolved disputes involving Russian ethnic minorities and national borders, are now full members of both the European Union and NATO.
Bush's words about the march of global freedom, worth reading in their own right, were doubly stirring because of the context. The American president was on his way to Moscow to participate in Russia's most important diplomatic event in years—the 60th anniversary celebration of the end of World War II. But rather than let a perturbed Russian President Vladimir Putin influence his itinerary, Bush chose to sandwich the ceremonies between two morale-boosting visits to democracy-hungry reformers in Russia's "Near Abroad."
You can read the rest of the story at
http://www.reason.com/links/links051005.shtml
BUSHES ENJOY NIGHT ON TOWN IN GEORGIA
By MARA D. BELLABY, Associated Press Writer
Tue May 10, 3:09 PM ET
TBILISI, Georgia - Laura Bush says the people of Georgia gave her a memorable gift — a rare night out on the town with her husband.
The famously homebound couple got a hearty welcome here, complete with acrobatic dancers, fireworks and miles of cheering crowds along the motorcade route. They were awe-struck by the hospitality, she said.
"George said last night, `Seldom do we have a night like that,'" Mrs. Bush said. "'We really got to have fun, stay in the downtown, go to a restaurant.' ... The dancing was unbelievable."
You can read the rest of the story at
http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/laura_bush
DANCING BUSH: PRESIDENT GETS JIGGY IN GEORGIA
To watch a cute video featuring our 'dancing' president, click on "video story" beneath the President's photo:
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=13939
BUSH HEADS HOME FROM EUROPEAN TOUR
TBLISI, Georgia -- President George W. Bush is headed home after drawing massive cheers in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
To watch another great videoclip, click on the video link entitled, "Bush Promotes Democracy in Georgia"
http://www.theneworleanschannel.com/news/4471649/detail.html
Great stuff, Deb.
I have a friend who was a missionary in Latvia for some years and she saw incredible changes there as the country was still emerging (this was in the late 1990's and early 2000's) from the crushing Soviet oppression. They have a long way to go but they are making much faster progress now.
When my friend would return to the States, she would go into a grocery store and wander around with her mouth open, just staring and staring at the multitude of items of all varieties. She said the commonality in Latvia and surrounding countries was almost bare shelves and almost no variety. Her first apartment had no bathroom, and the refrigerator was an earthen dug-out in a hillside, a very common food storage system there.